Improved railway-car brake



J. W. RICE.

Railway Car Brake.

No. 92,097. A Patented June 29, 1869.

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Letters Patent No. 92,097, dated June 29,1869.

IMPROVED RAILWAY-CAR BRAKE.

' The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and part of the smart} tion thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying .drawrngs, making a part of-this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, in which-'- Figurel is a side elevation of a railroad-car, with my invention applied.

Figure 2 is an end view of the same, showing the general arrangement of the drum, brake-shafts, levers,

and the cords operating the same.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the truck's'of the car, with' the levers attached to the bottom of the ear, showing the general arrangement of the brakes, brake-rods, chains, &c., as in operation.

Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the drum-gear and stafi' for operating the drum, levers, &c.,.all of whichare used to apply and release the brakes throughout the train simultaneously.

ent positions of the pawl, or dog which engages with the ratchet-teeth upon the drum containing the spring.

- Figure 8 is a horizontal transverse section through line '1. vU of fig. 4, showing the dog which operates the ratchet connected with the inner end of the spring in the drum.

Figure 9 is a plan view of the single equalizing-lever, or the equalizer used in operating the brakes ofa sinle car. 1 v I t Figure 10 is a side view of the same. -Figure 11 is a plan view of a portion of-thc same, showingthe chain and loose pulleys.-

Figures 12, and 13 represent a side view and plan of the double equalizing-lever, or the equalizer used in operating the brakes of more than one car.

' My invention relates to a brake to be used for stopping or' decreasing the speed of a'tl'aiu of railroadcars when in motion; and

It consists of an improvement in the arrangement of a spring within a drum, or case, with a brake-staff and gear for operating the same, together with pawls,

or dogs, and ratchet wheels, levers, and cords for operating said levers, whereby any one person may, by

My invention also consists of an arrangement'oi equalizing-levers with the chains and rods of a brake,

twhereby one person may'operate the brakes upon two cars or more at the same time, so that a less number of brakemen will be required upon the train than is required for the operation of the brakes now commonly used.

That others skilled in the art may be able to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and the mode of its operation.

In-the drawings- A B 0 represent the frame of a car, the ends of the. pieces 0 projecting beyond the posts B, forming the usual platform at each end ofa car. a

The posts, or rods y y, are attached to the end of the platform, and the plates [0 and a are secured to the said-posts y y. V

The plates (1 and a furnish a bearing for the shaft 00 and for the upper end of the shaft a, the lower end of said shaft a having a socket therein, into whichfits, somewhat loosely, the upper end of the spindle n, which passes down through the block 0, and serving as a pivot upon which turn the pawls L and L, slots, stand 2:, being made in said block 0, in which the pawls L and L operate, in a horizontal manner, upon said pivot n.

' Vertical slots, :1? and x, are made in the, block c, I andthe levers b and b, which are pivoted, at 0', to

pawl, L from moving outward, when the-long armof the said lever is down, as shown in black lines in fi 8. v v I lhe pawl L has a knuckle-joint, or is jointed at its middle part, so that when the inclined sides of the teeth of the ratchet a pass in contact with the curved side of the cud c of said pawl L, the joint is opened,-

and the drum, having the ratchet-teeth a thereon, is

permitted to turn in that direction, the spring a, op-

crating to keep the joint closed when the inclined sides of the teeth a" are not hearing against thepawl L,

The rods b and b are attached to the long arms of the levers band b, and pass up through apertures in the plates (1. and a", or other guides for that purpose.

The operation of this arrangernentrnay at first sight appear to be like that shown in said Letters Patent granted to me,.as hcreinbefore mentioned, but upon reference to the same, it will be seen that the shaft whichpassed through-the drum containing the spring, extended above the upper plate or rail, and a halid wheel was attached thereto, by means of which the brakes were applied as in the ordinary manner. In that combination of the ordinary hand-brake ,witlrthe self-acting brake, it was found that by its use the life of the brakeman was endangered, as he might be justin the act of seizing the hand-wheel to apply the brakes,

as the engineer pulled the cord ta) apply the self-acting brake, which might either injure his hands, or throw him oil the train.

It will be seen, that in the present arrangement, the shaft a, which passes through the drum, does not extend above the upperplate, or rail a, and that the wheel,- or winch upon the winding-shaft 0., cannot be used to apply the brakes in the ordinary manner, the shattand wheel 0 upon the other side ot" the platform being used for that purpose, and has no connection with the self-acting apparatus. This brake-shaft c, to be used'in the ordinary method of applying the brakes, is shown in fig. 2. I

The lower ratchet-wheel, a", has a sleevegt", attached thercto, said sleeve passing up through the drum n, which contains a coil spring, similar to that shown in the hereinbei'ore-mentioned Letters Patent, oneend of this spring being attached to the said sleeve 11, at ll, while the other and outer end of the spring is. attached tothe drum, at d.

The lower wheel has the teeth 0 thereon, while the ratchet-teeth a are made upon the drum a, and the drum being open at the top, the spring (I is placed therein and secured, and the cap at, having the gearteeth 0. upon its periphery, and the ratchet-teeth a upon the top, is placed over the top of the drum to, andis secured thereon by means of setcrew s, 01 y possibly.

any other suitable means. The shaft a passes down through the sleeve thus inserted in the drum, the lower endof said shaft resting, or having a bearing in the step c, the brzike-chain being attached to the lower end'ot' said shaft.

A pawl, o, with-its lover a, is attached directly to the shaft a above the ca a said )awl en a dn with 7 I O b the ratchet-teeth upon the top of said cap a". I

A. cord,lb, extends through the entire length of the train, in the upper part of the cars, passing over pulleys, b, said pulleys being placed in the upper part of the cars, and just'over the rods 1) b, that part of the cord which is betweeu-thetwo pulleys atveath end of the car, passing down and through the. loops, at the upper end of the rod b',.the end of the cord at the rear end ot" the train being secured to some part of the car, while the end of the cord at the forward endof the train may be attached to some part of the engine, within easy reach of the engineeri It might be well to have a small cylinder, of sufli cient size, attached to the cab of the engine, and operated, or made to revolve by means of a spring,- and the trout end of. the cord attached to the said'cylinder, so that it the engineer should deem it necessary to apply the train, or selt acting brake, he could do so by simply releasing a spring.

Acord, I), also extending the entire length of the;

train, so placed as to be out of the reach vot' passengers,

7 and passing over and down between'two pulleys placed over the rods 1), andthrough the loop in the top of the said rod b, serves to release the brakes, when they areapplied, when the danger is past, or the train is again put in motion after stopping.

The staff a has a bearing in the upper plate a, the

spindle n entering the socket in the lower end of said staff; and upon the lower end of said staff is securely fixed a gear-wheel, the teeth of, which engage with the teeth 11., upon the cap'a, and the staii'a! extends about the middlcot' the car, )asses over the pulley s,

and is attached. to the end f of the equalizing-lever O.

This lever is the same substantially as that shown in y the Letters Patent hercinbefore mentioned as granted to me, and requires no further explanation here.

The chain f, one endot' which is secured to the upper end of the brake-lever 71, passesaround the pulleys of the equalizer-O, as shown in fig. 3, the other end of said chain being secured to the upper end of the ln'ake-lever it. These ln'ake-leverslt and h are also more fully described in said Letters Patent bethre mentioned.

To the bottom of the car isattached a proper piece, 3, with a pin, 8", passing through it, and into the frame-work ot' the bot-tom of the car, or into a piece of iron attached thereto.

This pin s"' also passes through the equalizing-lever h, said lever having two loose pulleys thereon, one at each end, or near each end,

The brake-chain f, which is o 'leratedby this lever, is attached, atone end, to the end'j of the equalizinglever 0, passing back to the lever; It, and around the pulley a, thence longitudinally along tlle leve'r Ir",

and to the, other side of it, and'around the loose pulley n,- and thence extending to-the next car, the other end of said chain being attaehedth another equalizing-lever, 0, upon the other car; or before being attached to the said lever, it may pass around the pulleys of another equalizer, h", upon said othercar'.

In either case, it is believed that the brakes would be equally operative, but it might be found preferable to have two equalizers, like those shown in fig. 3, upon each car.

The common brake-stafl' r is attached to the platform of the car, in the usual mannelyte the lower end of which staff, is attached the brake-chainf, the other end of saidchain being attached to the end of the lever 7?. Y

It will be perceived that the. lever O has holes therein, at different distances from each end, so that the leverage may be lengthened or shortened as. may be desired, by attaching the chains to said lever at these holes. I

The chain f has a long link, It, at'the middle of the lever 11., through which link the pin It passes, so

that in case the chain breaks, the end of the link will pull against the said pin in either direction, and one of the brakes will not fail to operate in case the chain becomes temporarily broken. p

w The same eii'eet is produced in the lever O, by a pin, ifl passing through the lever, and also through a liuk'ot'the chainfsaid pin sliding in an'obliquc slot-in the lever.

The middle portion of said lever'O niay be made of two parallel plates, with loose, pulleys between,

and the arms f! and f secured to said plates by means of bolts, said bolts also serving as pivots,upon' which the loose pulleys operate, as shown in figs. 10 and 11. v v

Havingthus described the construction of my invention, I will now proceed to describe its IIIULlBOf operation All the parts being in place, as described, thcpawls L and L are placedin position, as showlrin black lines in figs. 6 and 8, and thelevers If and I) in position shownfin fig. 4, with their bent upright ends 0 and 0 within the block 0, passing up by the out-side The piece e being under the pinion a keeping the shaft a up in the position shown in fig. 4, the-said shaft a is rotated in the proper direction, by means of the wheel or winch atithe top, and the two gears a and a engaging with each other.

The drum (0'', with its cap a, is made to'revolve in the direction indicated by. the arrow, carryingwith it the outer end of the spring within the drum, as said end issecured to the drum. r y

When the rotating ot the drum commences, the sleeve a with the ratchet a attached thereto, is, by the action of the spring, made to rotate in the directionof the arrow, as shown in fig. 8, until one of the teeth 0 strikes against the end 0' of the pawl L, and as the said pawl is held securely in-that position by t the end e of the lever b thesaid sleeve andratchetwheel o" is prevented from making any further rotary.

movement, and the inner end of the spring is held stationary by the sleeve 01 while the outer end of the spring is carried around with'the drum, until thesaid spring hasbeen coiled up sufliciently to accu'mu late enough power toapply the brake. When the spring and drum have been rotated sufficiently, the piece 0 is swung upon its pivot out from under the pinion a, and the shaft a dropped, so that the pinion a) rests upon the block a.

The apparatus -is now ready 'to be used in applying the brakes. If the cords b and b are'all connected through the train, and also with the engine, within reach of the engineer, it he should deem it necessary to stop the train suddenly, by pulling the cord b, or causing it to be pulled, by releasing a spring, as hereinbefore described, the rods 1) through the train are pulled up-. ward, raising the long arm of the lever b up against the bottom of the lower, plate a, and drawing the short upright end e of the lever away from the side of the pawl L, which has been in the position shown in black lines infig. .6, while the spring remained coiled tightly, or whrle the drum was in a position ready for use. I p v This withdrawal of said shortend of the lever from .the side of said pawl, permits the said pawl to fly to one side quickly by the pressure of theratchetteeth a against it, into the position'represented in fig. 7, when the drum rotates. rapidly in an opposite direction, caused by the partial uncoiling of the spring within.

When the drum,with its cap or attached thereto,

- was being rotated, by turning the shaft 11. incoilin'g up the spring, the ratchet-teeth a on the top of the said cap, passed along under the loose pawl 0 pivotedto the stud a the end of said pawl sliding along up each incline, and dropping down each tooth, and when the drunr is permitted to fly back, by disengaging the pawl L from the teeth a the ratchet-teeth a, upon the cap strike against the end of the loose pawl 0 carrying it and the shaft a to which-the pawl is attached around with it, winding the chain 0 around the lower end of'said shaft a".

This draws the end f of the lever 0 back toward the pulley s on the bottom of the car, causing the chain f to be shortened, bringing the brake-shoes against the wheels; and as this is done upon all the cars of the train at the same instant, by the same cord 1), the train maybe stopped very quickly."

The brakenran may also be using .the ordinary hand-brakes c at the same time,without danger of harm;

In this operation of applying the brakes, the inner end of the spring has been held stationary by the sleeve n and ratchet-wheel a) and pawl L.

After the danger is past, and it is desiredtto put the train in motion, the cord b is pulled, raising the that shown in fig. 5, when the pawl L flies out to one side, as shown in red lines in fig. 8, by thepressme of the teeth 0 against said pawl, and the inner removing the power which holds the brake-shoes to the wheels. i

The hand-brake shaft 0 is placed at the other side of the platfrom, and one end .of'thecha-in f is attached to its lower end, the other end of said chain being attachedto the end fof the lever 0.

lever O in'a'pplyingthe brakes of the car, whether the same time. y y I If it should be desired to apply the brakes to two or more cars at the same time, with only one person .to operate the brakes, it maybe done by turning the shaft 1, thus drawing back the end a of the equalizing-iever h", and shortening the chain f.

This shortening of the said chain draws back the end I of the lever O, and applies the brakes to one to the levers on the next car, operates the brakes'upon link It and pin it operating to apply the brakesQupon one car, it the chain, should be temporarily broken,as hereinbefore described.

within a drum, as shown imLetters Patent, No. 64,036, granted to me, and dated the 23d dayfof April, A. D. 1867, (wherein is slrowualso the equalizer 0,) and also in Letters Patent, No. 16,004, granted to William G. Gramer, vember, A. D. 1856; and 1 .am also aware that an arrangement of cords for operating the same is described in both said Letters Patent; and I do. not claim any of the said devices, nor any part of the same, separately considered, or when considered irrespective of my arrangement and construction, as

tion or improvement,

Letters Patent, is

ratchet a, and sleeve a, shaft a, with its pawl 0, the shaft n, pawls L and L, and levers b bias a means tially as herein described.

'2. The swinging block end, and the spindle n, as a means of changing the vertical position of said shaft aw ith its pinion a, substantially as described. f

3'. -In a self-actingcar-brake, the levers btb pivoted at o, in combination with the pawls L and L, all constructed and operating substantially as described.

4; The cords b and'b, passing down between two pulleys, and'through a loop or -ring in the rods 1) and of a train. or series of railway-cars simultaneously, substantially as described.

5. The combination ofhe chains f, c, and f, with the equalizing-lever O, whereby-the hand-brake staii c and self-acting brakedrum may be used 'in applysubstantially as described.

" 6. The combination of the chains f, f, and f long arm of the lever 1) into a similar position to end of the spring being released by the rotation of p the sleeve of, the spring is free to uncoil itself, thus This arrangement brings into use'the equalizing- I applied by means of the hand-brake shaft 0, the

double brake-shaft r, or the self-acting apparatus of the drum and spring, either used separately'or all at car, while the other end of the chain f being attached the said next car in precisely the same manner, the

I am aware that self-acting brakes have heretofore been used, and applied by means of a spring confined and dated the 4th day of No i herein described; but having-described. my inven- What I do claim as new, and desire to secure by 1. The combination of the drum a and cap a,

of applying and releasing the brakes of a railway-car, automatically, all constructed and operating substanefwhenused in connection. I with the winding-shaft a, having a socket in its lower b, as a means of applying and releasing the brakes ing the brakes of a car, either separately or together,

4 i with the equalizing-levers 71 and 0, as a means of power of th hmke ivhnn desirable, constructed sub-v applying the'bmkes of two or more ems at the same stantialiy as herein described. I time, by the operation of one hand-brake stafl, 0-, sub- J. XV, RICE.

stantially' asherein described; Witnesses:

7. A bi'akeJever, O, having a series of holes near F. E. RICE, each end, for' the purpose of changing the leverage- 

